It may not have been the prettiest at times on Friday night at Tim Knight Field in Battle Mountain but the Battle Mountain High School football team picked up an important victory in the Northern 2A with a 21-9 win over Incline.
The Longhorns improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Northern 2A and have won three games in a row.
“A win is a win and we needed that,” said BMHS coach Tucker Vezina. “We are just trying to get better and improve every week.”
The two squads wore out the middle of the field for much of the first quarter, as both offenses had trouble moving the ball. Incline punted the first two times it had the ball and Battle Mountain turned the ball over on a fumble on its initial drive of the night and then turned the ball over on downs.
With the ball at midfield late in the first quarter, the Highlanders picked up a long run from quarterback Tommy Williams to put them inside the Longhorns’ 10-yard line.
The Battle Mountain defense held from there, allowing a 23-yard field goal by Josue Salas to give Incline a 3-0 lead with 26 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Longhorns would take the lead for the first time early in the second quarter, completing a 72-yard drive. In danger of having to punt again, Battle Mountain kept the drive going, as Anthony Silva found Sean Bengoa for a first down on a 2nd and 18 play. After a successful fourth-down play, Silva did the rest with his legs, scoring two plays later on a 38-yard run to give Battle Mountain a 7-3 lead with 8:26 left in the first half.
The Longhorns had an opportunity to add to the lead late in the first half but failed to score any points despite being deep in Highlander territory.
The possession started with a long pass from Silva to Jr Vazquez, which put the ball inside the Incline 20-yard line.
Battle Mountain had a touchdown called back on a penalty on the drive and the Longhorns failed to score, as Silva tackled near the goal line as time expired to end the second quarter.
Battle Mountain regrouped at the start of the third quarter and scored the first two times it had the ball to give them the breathing room they needed.
On the first possession of the third quarter, Silva dropped in a 28-yard pass to Bengoa at the goal line for a 13-3 advantage with 10 minutes left in the quarter.
Incline punted on the next possession and Battle Mountain was back in the end zone moments later.
On the first play of their next drive, Silva broke free for an 85-yard run and the final points of the night for the Longhorns.
The 2-point conversion gave Battle Mountain a 21-3 lead.
Incline had an opportunity to close the gap late in the third quarter but saw a drive end on downs at the Battle Mountain 16-yard line. The Longhorns stopped the next two Highlander drives with interceptions by Bengoa and Vazquez.
The Longhorns could not capitalize on the mistakes to extend the lead.
Incline scored with a minute to play on a 37-yard run by Williams but could not recover the ensuing onside kick, giving the win to Battle Mountain.
The Longhorns are back home on Friday to play Silver Stage at 7 p.m.
“We are not going to take anything for granted,” Vezina said. “We have to be ready to play and get another win.”
